The iPhone is easily the most talked about piece of consumer
electronics for 2007. For such a popular and mainstream product, the iPhone is
surprisingly inaccessible with the requirement
of a two-year activation contract with AT&T totalling more than $1,400.
However, it would only be a matter of time before phone hackers would find a
way around that.

The group iPhone Dev
Wiki has discovered a way to partially unlock the device so that it will work
with any AT&T or Cingular SIM card without the need for the exclusive new
contract, details a post made on Gizmodo.

The iPhone hackers have apparently spent days disassembling
firmware within the device in hopes of completely opening access. Although the
iPhone may now run outside of the exclusive contract, the phone is still
dependent on the AT&T network. What the hackers have accomplished is to
allow the iPhone to run on any previous contract, including those on corporate
accounts.

“Using iASign, you'll be able to activate existing AT&T
and Cingular Sims without signing a new contract,” wrote the hackers on the
Wiki page. The hackers added that they have confirmed the hack to also work
with virtual operators such as 7-11 wireless.

“As a side note, we'd like to clarify that we are not even
close on giving up the full unlocking, as reported on some websites. We're
still up and running, but we won't comment on a possible time line. If the
unlocking is possible we'll eventually find it, so stay tuned,” the Wiki page
update concluded.

Detailed on HackTheiPhone.com are 18 steps in
hacking the iPhone to accept other SIM cards. The process documented
requires iTunes and an Intel-based Mac.